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Greatballzofire   Dane_Zoo   Greatballzofire  
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 #1747141


Greatballzofire
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 Orange and black salamander..Please Identify!

First off , my camera is non-operational, so I must describe this little creature I found under a piece of firewood today. It is stubby, and is black with bright orange spots. In fact its tail is almost all orange. It is about 3 inches long. It is a salamander, not a lizard. It was found at 3000 feet elevation in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California.
I find these little guys fairly often, and put them in my garden to eat sowbugs and slugs.
If anyone knows the botanical name, and common name please post it, and a picture so I can compare. Sorry about no pics on my end. This is a jewel of a creature!
05/26/08  03:55pm

 #1747536


Dane_Zoo
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   Message To: Greatballzofire   In reference to Message Id: 1747141


 Orange and black salamander..Please Identify!

sounds like a Sierra Nevada Ensatina, Ensatina eschscholtzii platensis

Link

neat little sals, are you keeping it?
05/26/08  09:35pm

 #1747665


Greatballzofire
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   Message To: Dane_Zoo   In reference to Message Id: 1747536


 Orange and black salamander..Please Identify!

Hi, Dane_Zoo,
Yes, that is exactly what it is, a Ensatina eschscholtzii platensis. After I made my question post I went outside to move some lumber and found yet another one, smaller but the same species. I have a small garden in front of my cabin with many plants in containers. Pests like sowbugs congregate under the containers, so that is where I release the salamanders. I find these pretty little salamanders mainly under my firewood, and I always relocate them to my garden so they don’t get crushed. Perhaps if I get another terrarium I might keep them as pets, but I hate to remove anything from the ecology that eats sowbugs!
Thanks for the great link; have saved it to my favorites!
05/26/08  11:46pm


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